You never know what unexpected danger might put
your life on the line. But God knows, and He has
equipped every human with backup systems that are
programmed to respond to all sorts of emergencies.

Astronauts shivering in a broken-down
spacecraft far from earth. A woman falling
off a cliff. A backpacker encountering a furious
bear at a bend in the trail. How could
these people possibly survive?

Each depended on incredible biological
emergency systems to stay alive.

We live in a cursed world where dangers
lurk around every corner. Recognizing the
potential threats to our lives, God provided
our bodies with contingency plans, ready
to activate at a moment’s notice. Whatever
extra energy or infusion of chemicals our
bodies need, whatever quick changes are
required for us to make quick decisions or
conserve precious resources, the brain is
always ready to act.

The beauty of these emergency systems is
that we don’t have to learn them. Every person
begins life with these abilities, which are
passed down through the generations, originating
in our first parents, Adam and Eve.

Researchers are learning more and more
about how our brain switches operations
when thrown into hazardous situations.
You may never face life-threatening situations,
or you may face them only once, but
in any case, God has equipped you to have
a better chance of surviving. Consider just
three examples.

Photo courtesy of NASA

To Coldly Go

The loud bang was unexpected.
At first, the other astronauts thought
a crewmember was playing a practical
joke. But they soon realized the situation
was serious. On April 13, 1970,
Apollo 13 radioed home. “Houston,
we’ve had a problem.”

Over the next few days, NASA’s Mission
Control in Texas and the endangered
astronauts banded together to
solve nearly each problem thrown at
them. They figured out how to preserve
batteries and water. The NASA
teams even managed to design a
makeshift air scrubber to reduce the
dangerous levels of carbon dioxide in
the small spaceship. But one problem
couldn’t be solved—the lunar module
Aquarius was getting cold, almost
freezing (around 38°F).

Initially, the heat given off by the
computer systems helped to maintain
the temperature in Aquarius, but later
they were turned off to preserve the
precious power. Three days after the
explosion, the cold was nearly unbearable.
The astronauts never slept. Fred
Haise’s feet, after getting soaked from
a leaky water dispenser, were half
frozen. Their food turned into blocks
of ice.

How did they manage to survive?
Their brains were ready with a contingency
plan that NASA could never
imagine.

Alone and exposed to near-freezing temperatures, without warm clothes
or heaters, and three days away from help. Could you survive? Yes! The
brain’s hypothalamus is ready for just such emergencies, and it made
the difference in the Apollo 13 mission.

One part of the brain, called the
hypothalamus, regulates the body’s
internal temperature. When we get
too hot or too cold, the hypothalamus
initiates emergency systems. When
the temperature plummeted to a critical
low, the astronauts’ hypothalamuses
responded immediately.

The first defense was to generate
heat. Muscles, like computers, produce
heat when working. So the astronauts
started shivering involuntarily.

The second defense preserved what
heat their bodies still contained. As
the temperature continued to drop,
their brains stimulated the blood vessels
just below the skin’s surface to
constrict, keeping the blood deeper
and warmer as it circulated.

Still, it got colder, causing slowed
heart rates and digestion. Their
brains initiated the next step. In an
effort to protect the vital organs, their
brains triggered the blood to concentrate
around the heart and brain,
keeping those key areas warmer and
vital systems functioning. Fingers,
toes, and other extremities were left
to the cold.

God has equipped our minds and bodies
with sophisticated contingency plans to help
us survive in life-threatening situations.

As the astronauts’ bodies continued
to cool, the nervous systems slowed,
and clear thinking was hampered. The
astronauts even struggled to understand
and remember what Mission
Control told them. Their brains were
conserving all resources in an effort
to survive, and logical thinking was
unnecessary for immediate survival.

Finally, the end was in sight. After
days of fighting the cold and fear, the
astronauts buckled in, ready to restart
the engine of the Command Module.
Amidst cheers and more than a few
tears, they entered earth’s atmosphere.
The Apollo 13 mission is commonly
known as NASA’s successful failure.
The astronauts made it home, thanks,
in great part, to the incredible design
of their bodies.

Pain, Pain Go Away

Hiking alone through the
Sierra Nevada Mountains in California
had always been one of Amy Racina’s
favorite pastimes. The beauty of
the trees, the silence of the hills, and
the warm August air filled Amy with
peace and joy. Then the unthinkable
happened.

Near the edge of a cliff, the ground
suddenly crumbled underneath her
feet. She tumbled into space with
nothing to catch her but a granite slab
60 feet (18 m) below.

When Amy woke up, she waited for
pain to overwhelm her. It didn’t. So
she sat up and assessed her situation.
Her hip was broken in two places, her
right kneecap had shattered, and she
noticed several other minor fractures,
sprains, and dislocations.

Amy knew she was badly hurt, so
why wasn’t she overwhelmed with
pain?

Isolated in remote mountains, her body broken and bleeding after a
sixty-foot fall, how could Amy Racina hope to survive? Her brain’s
periaqueductal gray went right to work, recognizing the
threat and initiating an extraordinary survival strategy.

In extreme emergencies, our brain
can block pain. If Amy had felt the
full force of the pain from all of her
injuries, she would have been unable
to bind her wounds and drag herself
the mile and a half to the nearest trail.
The trail offered the only hope of
rescue before she bled to death.

Typically, pain is a good thing. It
warns us of injury or sickness. It tells
us when to slow down or when we’ve
done too much. Few things send us
to the doctor faster than intense pain.
If we never felt pain, we would rarely
notice when we hurt ourselves.

But in life-threatening situations, it’s
not always good to feel pain. Soldiers
in the midst of battle don’t always have
time to treat bullet wounds. Long-term
survival may demand their full attention
on the enemy, so the brain can
temporarily block the pain.

But how can our brains block pain?
Scientists are still trying to understand
the details, but the gate control theory
suggests that the paths between pain-transmitting
nerves can be blocked by
natural pain killers.1 Normally, nerves
at the injured site send signals along
a path to a projection neuron (the
gate) located in the spine, which then
forwards the message to the brain.

However, if the pain must be
blocked, a special region in the middle
of the brain, called the periaqueductal
gray, closes the gate by releasing
endorphins, natural pain killers more
powerful than morphine. Once the
danger has passed, the periaqueductal
gray will remove the endorphins,
allowing pain through the gate.

Once rescuers arrived to lift Amy
by helicopter to a hospital, pain
flooded over her. The temporary lull
in pain had saved her life. Now it was
time for the normal process of rest
and healing to begin.

Bear in Mind

Hiking in the middle of the
remote forest in the USA’s Yellowstone
National Park, 22-year-old Josh
Beattie turned the corner and nearly
stumbled over a grizzly bear cub at
play, blocking his path. But mom was
there, too. Suddenly, his heart raced,
his breathing increased, and his muscles
tensed.

What was happening to Josh?

His brain was preparing to fight or
flee. At the first sign of danger, before
the problem is fully processed by the
logic center, our brain already kicks
into gear. In many cases, like touching
a hot stove, if we waited until we
consciously understood the dangers,
our reaction would come too late.

So how does this fight-or-flight
system work?

When danger nears, the hypothalamus
(the same part of our brain that
regulates body temperature) “flips a
switch.” Before we have time to think,
our brain speeds ahead of us, ordering
the release of appropriate chemicals.
Our brain also increases blood flow
to the muscles, allowing for quick
action. Breathing deepens to elevate
oxygen intake. Heart rate and pressure
increase to speed oxygen delivery.
Many nonvital systems temporarily
shut down. Growth, digestion, and
the immune system stop functioning
so that energy is not wasted on systems
not required for immediate survival.

But the brain acts differently if the
danger is farther away. According to
one study, the distance of the threat
relates to the area our brain uses
to face it.2 If the angry mother bear
appears far away, the part of our brain
used for strategy (called the ventromedial
prefrontal cortex) activates.
But as she draws closer,
the focus switches to
the fight-or-flight part of
our brain, known as the
periaqueductal gray (the
same part that controls
feeling pain). Essentially,
the brain seeks
to implement an escape
plan before momma
bear gets too close.

Far from any trail, hiker Josh Beattie stumbled
on two bears, only 25 yards away. Would he survive?
Before he even had time to think, his brain initiated
emergency procedures. The hypothalamus (see previous image)
ordered more blood to the muscles, increased
his heart rate, and deepened breathing. Then
the periaqueductal gray (see previous image) prepared him to
make the ultimate decision: escape or fight?

Time is up. Which will you choose,
fight or escape? The answer comes
down to the individual. Whether we
run or fight is not always clear-cut, and
the decision depends on our emotions
and the situation. But no matter the
emergency, God designed the human
brain with the specialized capabilities
to help us survive, be it day-to-day
hassles or perilous threats to life.

The End but Not the Limit

At the same time that mankind
explores the deep mysteries of the
oceans and the awesome glories of the
heavens, where the Creator’s genius is
clearly seen, we are just as amazed by
the intricacies scientists constantly
discover in the human brain.

The same God who displays His
power in space reminds us about His
loving care in our own bodies and
minds. From the very beginning, God
provided for His children even before
such protection was needed. Adam
and Eve were well-equipped to survive
in a fallen world, and so are we.

Heather Brinson Bruce earned dual degrees in English and chemistry from Clemson University. She writes and edits for Answers magazine as part of the full-time staff.

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Anything But Simple

Answers Magazine

October – December 2009

When it comes to God’s marvelous creation, nothing compares to the amazing design of the human body. From the protective garment of skin to the engineering of our bones and new discoveries about our brain, this issue is packed with testimony to the Master Designer.

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